We will most certainly don’t know the exact story, but it seems that one of the Ford engineers thought, “If a car can brake by itself, why can’t a shopping trolley?” Based on that thought, a sophisticated trolley prototype was born which the company called Self-Braking Trolley.
As the name implies, this shopping trolley is designed to be able to brake by itself when a collision is detected. Then why should a company like Ford make it? Because the way it works is similar to the Pre-Collision Assist technology that they apply in a number of cars the company has made.
“Pre-Collision Assist technology can help our customers avoid accidents or mitigate the effects of being involved in a collision. We thought that showing how similar thinking could be applied to a shopping trolley would be a great way to highlight what can be a really useful technology for drivers,” – Anthony Ireson, director, Marketing Communications, Ford of Europe.
On the cars that are equipped with this technology, there are cameras and radars that always actively monitor the presence of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in front of the car. Then when the car is getting closer and the driver does not act immediately following the warning given, the car will brake by itself.
The same procedures are also getting embedded in this trolley. The sensor installed on the front end of the bottom is in charge of monitoring so that the trolley can brake before hitting something. So even if the trolley escapes from the hands of children and just slides, it will immediately stop before hitting another person or object.
But we need to wait a lil bit longer as the Self-Braking Trolley is still a prototype product, and the possibilities for mass production is – honestly – very small. It is actually part of the Ford Interventions program, where they try to utilize innovations in the automotive field to solve everyday problems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqrDFWmehDU
